Title
Report regarding waiver of reading and introduction of ordinances to establish a pavement cut moratorium, a Utility Pavement Cut Fee, and a Heavy Construction Vehicle Fee; and adoption of a resolution setting rates for the Fees. (Lawrence Henriquez, Senior Civil Engineer)
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RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Staff recommends:
1.) Move to waive the first reading of and introduce an ordinance establishing a pavement cut moratorium.
2.) Move to waive the first reading of and introduce an ordinance establishing a Utility Pavement Cut Fee.
3.) Move to waive the first reading of and introduce an ordinance establishing a Heavy Construction Vehicle Fee.
4.) Adopt a resolution setting rates for the Utility Pavement Cut Fee and the Heavy Construction Vehicle Fee and adding both fees to the City’s Master Fee Schedule.
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BACKGROUND
The City of South San Francisco is responsible for maintaining 140 miles of street pavement, a key asset with an average pavement condition index (PCI) of 76. However, traditional funding sources like gas taxes have stagnated due to more fuel-efficient vehicles and inflation. This creates a growing funding gap as the City’s roads continue to age and require more expensive repairs. Protecting this critical infrastructure is vital for the City’s economy, public safety, and residents' quality of life.
The challenge of preserving the City’s roads is made worse by constant utility work and heavy construction vehicles. Utility companies frequently cut into pavements for maintenance or new installations, and while the City tries to coordinate this work, unexpected excavations are often necessary. In addition, large construction vehicles from development projects contribute to the deterioration of the roads. These activities significantly shorten the lifespan of the pavement, leading to soaring maintenance costs for the City.
To address this, South San Francisco hired NCE Consulting, Inc. to analyze the financial impact of utility cuts and heavy construction vehicles on its road network. The goal was to quantify the damage in terms of reduced pavement service life and use this data to develop a cost recovery fee. The funds collected from these fees would then be used to help finance future pavement rehabilitation projects, ensuring the City can sustain its road network as traditional funding sources become less reliable.
DISCUSSION
Utility Pavement Cut Fee Study and Pavement Cut Moratorium
To better understand the financial impact of utility work, the City completed a Utility Cut Fee Study (Attachment 1). The study's main goal was to compare the performance of streets with and without utility cuts. By doing this, the City could quantify the damage caused by these cuts and create a fee schedule to recover the costs. Utility cuts harm pavements in two ways: they weaken the structure and shorten the pavement's service life. The study evaluated city streets with and without cuts to measure both types of damage. Based on these findings, fees were developed to compensate the City for the reduced lifespan and structural integrity of the roads. Field testing was performed to evaluate the structural deteriorations of the select roadways along with their respective pavement thicknesses and their PCI’s were extracted from
StreetSaver for evaluating the pavement distresses. Following the analyses it was concluded that the pavements with utility cuts deteriorate at a faster rate than those without. Roadway PCIs dropped an average of 14 points to 21 points for arterials / collectors and residential streets. On average, the PCI dropped by 38% if the cut area was greater than 10% of the section area. If the City had the fees applicable in 2024 it would have collected approximately between $120,000 to $300,000.
The proposed ordinance would be in conformance with Section 253(C) of the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 which expressly recognizes the authority of local governments to impose reasonable nondiscriminatory fees upon telecommunications providers using the public right-of-way, as well as California Government Code Section 50030 which specifically authorizes the imposition of a permit fee that does not exceed the reasonable costs of providing the service for which the fee is charged. The Utility Cut Fee Study establishes that the amount of the proposed fee would not exceed the cost of repairing pavement damaged and reduced in life as a result of excavations.
Heavy Construction Vehicle Fee Study
The City has completed a Heavy Construction Vehicle Fee Study (Attachment 2) to understand the impact of large vehicles on pavement durability and to develop a corresponding fee. These fees are designed to offset the structural and financial damage heavy vehicles inflict on city roads.
The amount of damage a vehicle causes depends on both the vehicle's weight and the condition and thickness of the pavement. Damage increases exponentially as the vehicle's load gets heavier, and it becomes more severe on thinner or already-deteriorating roads. Based on field data and historical evaluations, the study developed a fee schedule to help the City recover the full cost of these damages. NCE recommends charging a fee per square foot, which would allow the costs to scale appropriately with the size of each project.
The proposed fee would be $1.00 per square foot for single-family residential projects and $0.50 per square foot for multi-family, commercial, and industrial projects. This fee is specifically meant to cover the damage caused by heavy construction vehicles that goes beyond the wear and tear from standard passenger cars. It is not a fee for the privilege of using city streets, but rather a way to recover costs from the additional damage these heavy vehicles cause.
For Context, staff selected four development projects, 2 housing and 2 commercial developments to ascertain how the Heavy Construction Vehicle Fees compare with other City fees:
• 120 E Grand Avenue (commercial)
Impact / Development Fees = $6,148,780
Heavy Construction Vehicle Fee = $83,521 which represents 1.4% of Impact / Development Fees
• 7 South Linden Avenue (multi-family residential)
Impact / Development Fees = $14,557,140
Heavy Construction Vehicle Fee = $455,368 = $839 per unit. The total fee represents 3.1% of Impact / Development Fees
• 723 Olive Avenue (single-family residential)
Impact / Development Fees = $80,563
Heavy Construction Vehicle Fee = $2,003 which represents 2.5% of Impact / Development Fees
• 563 Magnolia Avenue (single-family residential)
Impact / Development Fees = $49,483
Heavy Construction Vehicle Fee = $3,208 which represents 6.5% of Impact / Development Fees
FISCAL IMPACT
The Ordinance establishing a pavement cut moratorium will have no financial impact. The Ordinances establishing the Utility Pavement Cut Fee and the Heavy Construction Vehicle Fee will generate funds for the City to use towards future objectives as specified in the ordinances.
CONCLUSION
Staff recommends City Council move to waive the first reading of and introduce by Title, (1) an ordinance adding Chapter 13.05 to Title 13 of the South San Francisco Municipal Code to establish a pavement cut moratorium, (2) an ordinance adding Chapter 13.06 to Title 13 of the South San Francisco Municipal Code adopting a Utility Pavement Cut Fee, and (3) an ordinance adding Chapter 15.66 to Title 15 of the South San Francisco Municipal Code adopting a Heavy Construction Vehicle Fee; Staff further recommends adopting a resolution setting rates for the Utility Pavement Cut Fee and Heavy Construction Vehicle Fee. The drafted ordinances can be modified or introduced for adoption at the discretion of the City Council.
Attachments
1. Utility Cut Fee Study
2. Heavy Construction Vehicle Fee Study
3. Staff PowerPoint Presentation Slide Deck
Associated Files
1. Legistar File 25-762 - Pavement Cut Moratorium Ordinance
2. Legistar File 25-763 - Utility Pavement Cut Fee Ordinance
3. Legistar File 25-764 - Heavy Construction Vehicle Ordinance
4. Legistar File 25-486 - Resolution